Could Al Franken get any more annoying?

[GCP]

I've had it with his show. I like him as a person, a comedian and as an author - I bought his two books and thoroughly enjoyed them both, but his radio show is almost totally unlistenable. He spends much of his time dissecting O'Reilly's various boobs and blunders, but the thing is, he repeats and repeats and repeats the stuff over and over again as if we hadn't got the point in the first place.
The "Oy Oy Oy Show" is neither funny nor enlightening.
And today he brought out the concept of a slide whistle to illustrate the percentage of unemployed since the 70's. You get the idea - the note was low for a low unemployment rate and slid higher as the rate went up.
It was the most unbelieveably dire piece-of-shit radio I have ever heard.
I feel sorry for his co-host, because she has to rein him in the whole time, telling him when the commercial breaks are due, and basically shutting him up when he's waffling.

Flame away :popcorn:

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. try Thom Hartmann, you will not be disapointed

[longship]

11. Other than when Hartmann exercises shameless self promotion

n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. Ive been listening for over a year now

and have yet to hear self promotion

[longship]

34. I like Thom, and listen to him

But he's always promoting his writings, his books, his credentials, etc.
My quibble is only a minor one.

On the positive side, He's got one of tightest shows on the radio and has great guests. Lunch with Bernie rocks. His interviews are good. He handles neocons graciously but without giving them ground. Altogether a good host, other than the self-promotion part.

[NYCGirl]

29. Hartmann can get awfully pedantic, too. IMO NT

[dhinojosa]

13. He had a good show, but turned him off when he....

didn't know where Manchuria was. That kinda pissed me off. I get angry easily I guess at ignorance. But he has a pretty consistent show.

[Sanity Claws]

2. I agree

I can't listen to him, either. At first, I found Malloy annoying but grew to like him because he actually makes points and doesn't belabor the same thing over and over again, as Al F. does. Some of thse folks grow on you. Al F is not one of them.

[Democracy White]

3. I haven't heard it...

as I don't recieve his show on anything..

Dee

[teenagebambam]

Ah, remember the good ol' days...

....when Al was writing for SNL, and the skits would go on for about 20 minutes past the point when they cesaed being funny?

The "Oy Oy OY Show" makes me want to punch myself in the face.

[ithinkmyliverhurts]

"The "Oy Oy OY Show" makes me want to punch myself in the face."

Funniest line of the day. Nice.

[madrchsod]

4. when the slide whistle comes out

the show has, for a better phrase, "jumped the shark".

[iconoclastNYC]

5. I agree.

This is what happens when you are a "big name". You get to suck and nobody calls you on it. It's not his talent that keeps him in that seat, it's his name.

Live radio is not where he belongs. I stopped listening to him months ago and now i download and listen to Malloy while I wait for Randy to come on.

[livetohike]

6. Not going to flame because I agree with you

I haven't listened to him in months. I don't know the last time. His personal vendetta against O'Reilly doesn't belong on the airways, imo.

I don't listen to Randi either. She gets on my nerves.

I listen to Lynn Cullen (out of Pgh.) and Thom Hartman and sometimes Ed Schultz.

[Vincardog]

7. Well uh ummmm duh what the kind of like does he ... stumble in speech

`as much as W? Relax we can help him win in Michigan and get him off AAR. Maybe replace him with a literate Liberal?

[corkhead]

10. Minnie-Sota actually, not Michigan

[dhinojosa]

8. AAR is broken.

I only listen to Rachel Maddow from the podcast..I agree, I am beginning to dislike Al Franken's show too (oh no). Jerry Springer, bleech. Randi Rhodes sucks too. The Majority Report is difficult to listen to, too many jokes. Mike Malloy is nazi this, and nazi that. Not only that I no longer have it on Sirius. Whether it's Sirius's fault or AAR's fault, I don't care. It is almost a blessing now.

[longship]

31. AAR not broken

To the extent that they are kicking ass in the ratings, they are achieving much more than anybody could have predicted.

When you think about things, consider this. Do we want AAR to be preaching to the choir? Or, do we want AAR to be influencing people and changing their minds? I will choose the latter.

Each AAR show has its positives and negatives. Franken is a self-confessed middle-of-the-roader. Malloy is as left as it gets. Rhodes is a great researcher who can cut to the core of issues with incredibly detailed analysis. The two Mars have a great show for morning drive time, funny and topical. Rachel Maddow is concise and informative, with no fluff. Majority Report can be good, or bad, depending on how little, or how much, Janeane and Sam bicker at each other. Sam can really be good (like when he took Randi's show).

I can't figure out where Jerry Springer figures in this. But I never listen to him anyway.

Yes, it's a mixed bag. But that's okay, too. They are making a difference and are contributing to the effort of turning this country around.

I support AAR, even though they don't do everything I want them to do. Where else can people go to get the truth? Fox? CNN? MSNBC? The alphabet networks?

We can carp about AAR, but we cannot ignore the possibility that they very well may be helping our cause immensely.

[dhinojosa]

32. I am happy they are kicking ass.

I am glad people are enjoying it, I am not though. I wish Rachel was at the forefront. Morning Sedition is great to listen to, I forgot about them.

[trogdor]

36. AAR to be preaching to the choir?

I fear that anyone who bothers to podcast anything from AAR is already a member of that choir. A good question - What do I do with the stack of used AAR podcast CD's (all files in MP3 format) I'm accumulating in my car? I'd like to make sure they're properly labeled, then leave them somewhere in the hope that someone might grab one.

My opinion? If Al Franken is the weakest link in the AAR chain, the network will do just fine. I will agree with you that you need someone a little more dynamic to compete with Rush Limbaugh in his time slot, though. I'd nominate Randy Rhodes; she's got that Brooklyn/Queens attitude.

[jobycom]

9. No flame. He gets on my nerves, too. His skits are bad

his analsis is okay, as long as he doesn't have an opponent (he got killed today by Christopher Hitchens in the part i heard) but his skits are usually third rate and overly predictable. The oy oy oy thingie is a waste of airtime. ANd that dittohead thing just pisses me off.

I listen, anyway, since he's the only thing on. I don't usually start paying attention until Randi comes on.

[Patchuli]

12. No, you are right

I wish he'd stick to discussing what's important these days and it's certainly NOT O'Lielly or Limbaugh!

Priorities, Al, priorities! :think:

[dhinojosa]

14. but, hey, you are listening to "THE BEST OF AL FRANKEN"

most of the time. Yuck.

[Patchuli]

41. So what's Al on vacation

and who decided what was "The Best of?!"

[dhinojosa]

46. I don't know, but the rest of AAR had new stuff

well at least Rachel did. That's all I listened to, and then I tuned into Franken and voila, "THE BEST OF"

[Oreo]

15. I turned off the slide whistle today too

The vaudeville skits get old very quickly. I know a lot of people like her but to me, Lanpher is like somebody blowing a slidewhistle while they scratch a chalkboard.

I just hope he doesn't mess up when he runs for Senate against Normie in 08.

[BlueWolff]

16. It is a HIDEOUS show

We should call all the other programs on AAR and complain about Franken and ask them WHY...Franken has SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many Conservatives on his show talking crap...This is suppossed to be OUR radio station, we don't need to give Hitchinson and Orenstein ANYMORE time...they can go on Hardball. Franken is biding his time until he runs for the senate...BUT...they should cancel his show....It is HIDEOUS and you get very little info from him...he IS obsessed with O'Reilly and Loonbaugh..WHO CARES? Joe Conason is great and also Oliphant..but to wait all week for those guys and waste 3 hours a day on nonsense is outrageous.....

[K-W]

17. Thanks for labeling your flame bait as such.

As productive as threads bashing AAR personalities are.

[OrlandoGator]

43. Well, it seems that quite a few people (myself included) agree.

So I guess we aren't all AAR cheerleaders after all.

[charlie]

18. In some ways he reminds me of Billy Crystal

Still thinks schtick from an era past is boffo comedy.

[LiberalForEver]

19. I agree 125 %

[MamaBear]

20. Welcome to the club.

I turned him off months ago, when he kept blathering on and on and on about Social Security after it was already a dead issue. He is pathetic and hopeless, and his co-host should sue for defamation of character -- he uses her as a shrew. He works, at most, only 3 weeks or so a month (if you want to call it working) and lots of days can't seem to thread three sentences together. He interrupts his intelligent, informed, articulate guests with ums and ahs, and then has the gall to eat while on the air.

And he wants to be a senator? Well, come to think of it ... :eyes:

His show is probably the worst on AAR. Hang around till three and try Randi, or go for the radio pro, Mike Malloy.

[demnan]

21. Al Franken should not be on radio

much of his humor is visual anyway. It doesn't go over on the radio. He'd be better on T.V.

[NYCGirl]

27. He is on TV. His show is on Sundance every night. NT

[quisp]

23. Flame ON!

You said:
"the most unbelieveably dire piece-of-shit radio I have ever heard."

c'mon, give the guy a break. And you obviously haven't ever listened to Limbaugh, Hannity, Weiner, O'Lielly, ManCow, et al.

I'll agree that the OyOyOy show daily is a little tedious, but as far as repeating himself that's just the nature of radio: repetition. People are tuning in and out and you have to hammer on things over and over again. Maybe you shouldn't listen 3 hours a day every day. Dial it back a bit.

And how about a little credit where credit is due? He had a great interview with Hackett today. He's got Norm Ornstein and Joe Conason on as regulars.

I think it's a relativly tight show.

and instead of knocking it down maybe offer a little CONSTUCTIVE CRITICISM.

and I can hardly wait for you to start putting up YOUR 3 hour a day podcast. When's that gonna happen again?

[NYCGirl]

28. And don't forget

David Brock on Wednesdays! (And I think Tom Oliphant is a regular now, too.)

[Blue Belle]

24. I stopped listening to him when...

he gave his audience the holiday gift of reading passages of his book out loud. Yeah. What a treat - 3 hours of "Lies and lying liars" excerpts... I'd rather listen to paint dry. THat coupled with his annoying habit of eating while on the air and Catherine Lampher's glass breaking cackle... I just can't listen anymore. The only days I catch his show are when Joe Conason is on. They should give Joe his own show. :-)

[democrank]

25. Annoying? Yes. He`s like fingernails on a chalkboard.

For the life of me, I can not understand why Franken wastes so much valuable time with crap like the "Oy Oy Oy Show" or those grueling interviews with his buddy, the Limbaugh Ditto Head.

Maybe it`s just me, but I think we`re in serious, deep doo-doo, the kind that requires some heavy-duty action a few notches above Franken`s exercise in self-indulgence.

I get my comic relief from Jon Stewart. But, for serious dialogue, I rely on shows like Democracy Now. Franken is a clown.

[longship]

26. Marc and Mark rule

I podcast Morning Sedition every morning. (It's on in the middle of the night here on the left coast.) Love it.

In no particular order:
* Witty, timely commentary
* Good production values
* Lawton Smalls
* Future Marc and Future-future Marc
* The INews 5000
* Marc's dreams
* "Right and Early"
* Reverend Milfington
* Daily Democratic talking points from the Streisand compound

It's a great show.

Good morning geniuses, philosopher kings and queens, working-class heros, progressive utopians with no sense of humor, lurking conservatives...

[Surya Gayatri]

49. Couldn't agree more, longship. Morning Sedition rules!

Of all the AAR hosts, Marc and Mark are by far the most topical (aside from Rachel Maddow, of course), and at the same time the most entertaining. Like many here, I too have stopped listening to Franken and for the same reasons. Thom Hartmann, Tony Trupiano, or the Young Turks would be worthy successors to him and Lanpher. Franken could do promotional tours and guest slots where his talents would be much better utilized.

[Behind the Aegis]

30. I like him!

I love the "Oy yoy yoy" show! He gets riled up and he makes good points. If you don't like him, that fine, but I do and will continue to listen to him!

[MidnightWind]

33. Al apparently believe she can build "common ground"

between us and them. I'm sorry but I think that train has long since left the station. So what he is actually doing is giving these idiots the time and opportunity to plug their lies and BS and I for one resent it too.

[hiaasenrocks]

35. Can't stand the Oy Oy Oy Show.

I tend to agree with everything you said. I listen to him occasionally because, well...at that time of day he's about the only thing on talk radio that's bearable.

[newyawker99]

40. Hi hiaasenrocks!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[LeahD]

37. I turn off the radio when Oy, Oy, Oy comes on, but

when Tom Oliphant is on, I turn up the volume so I don't miss anything.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

38. i actually enjoy al's show

i listen to an hour of it everyday at lunch.
i get a kick out of his humor,
evidentally some don't.

:silly:

[skypilot]

39. I haven't listened to him in months...

...for pretty much all the reasons that you stated. I tune in on rare occasions and the show just seems to be stuck in a rut. The little personalized songs that he uses for certain guests were funny and cute ages ago. They are just annoying now and I think they eat up too much time that could be used for actually talking with the person before their time runs out. I also got tired of Franken interjecting goofy remarks into interviews when the interviewee was trying to be serious. I know he's a comedian but still. The only time Franken would seem to get downright serious (almost relentlessly so) was when talking about Social Security and taxes. I know that those are serious subject but they can also be terribly dry. Some humor could come in handy during those talks.
Anyway, I haven't really been able to listen to his show for more than a few minutes at a time for months now. And when I hear the voice of that Mark Luther asshole....x(

[King Coal]

42. Well go listen to the goddamn pigboy then. Shit.

[ClusterFreak]

44. Your 100 billion percent correct about everything you said....

....Franken rocks my ass for any reason you care to name. Except for his radio show. He has no concept, no clue at all, of how to host a listenable, interesting, thought-provoking radio program. Too bad.

:hurts:

[applegrove]

45. Come on. When USA was in trouble Al heard the call and stepped up.

He is a writer & a comedian - not a radio host. Yes he has always been fascinated with politics. But Radio Host? Total change of profession and he did it all for the country he loves.

Remember in Saving Private Ryan the hero & leader kept being private about his history before he became a soldier. Men followed him into battle and in the end he owned up - he was a school-teacher!

When you are fighting against dangerous juveniles with their cabals & reigns of power - you just step up. No guarantee you will be particularly good at what you do.

So Al stepped up. And he may do so yet again if he runs for the Senate.

[dissent1977]

47. I like him until he does the Oy Oy Oy Show

I don't always agree with him, as he is a bit too conservative on certain issues for my taste but I do find him entertaining to listen to, and he does make some good arguments. I will agree though that some of his "comedy" bits can get a little annoying sometimes, especially the oy oy oy show and the audio crawl. Neither of those segments were EVER funny and why he keeps doing them is beyond me.

[sintax]

48. Franken is tedious, repetitive and ingratiating

not to mention self-absorbed, uninteresting, breaks no new ground and unfunny. interrupts his guests incessantly, thinking his words to be far more interesting than what they might have to offer. Why doesn't he just interview himself?

His view of realpolitik is quite narrow.

A problem with viewing someone like Franken as "to the left" is that the confines are thusly defined by someone whose views are really quite centrist and so when someone like Chomsky or Parenti or Shiva comes along their far more intelligent and thorough and REAL analysis of any given situation or issue is seen as coming from outer space.

What passes for "The Left" in America is quite centrist and very uninspired.

[BlueWolff]

50. GREAT POST AND SOOOOOOO TRUE!

[Rob H.]

51. I dunno, I like his show

I've never heard the "Oy Oy Oy Show" bit, though. I usually just catch part of Franken during my lunch hour, and I think I enjoy it most when he has on guests like David Brock and especially Joe Conason. (It was excellent when Franken and Conason talked to Joe Klein about his "book" that attempts to slime Hillary--it's probably the first time someone's ever been given a bloody nose over the phone.) I usually tune out when he gets into discussing things with Mark(?) the Dittohead.

The one personality who really gets on my nerves--and I'm a donning a flame-resistant suit because I know a lot of people here love her show--is Randi Rhodes. She constantly interrupts people whether she agrees with them or not, and woe betide the person who calls in and says, "I agreed with most of what you just said, but...." I can't listen to her for more than a few minutes, if that, before switching back to regular ol' radio or CD.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

52. don't listen then. n/t

[RSchewe]

53. AAR has some good, some annoying

Let me preface by saying that I think most shows are good, but there are some that have points that are like scratching a chalkboard with your fingernails.

The annoying thing about The Al Franken show is that he wastes so much of the show time. If he is not stuttering and saying "uhhhh" a 1000 times before he spits out what he is bumbling, he is babbling about stuff no one cares about. There are just so many dumb skits that are not that funny.

I like the debunking, it is important, but sometimes the show, like mentioned here in this thread, is overly repetitive. I agree with a lot of what he says, but he is often not clear.

When you have these shows that have so many commercials and waste so much time, it is annoying to look back on a particular show and see how little material of any substance gets covered.

Maddow's show "Front Page" in the morning is really good, they should have let her keep that time slot she had with Unfiltered. She nails all of the important news in an hour. She, Randi and Malloy are probably the shows I like most. Morning Sedition is underrated and The Majority Report can be good sometimes, but Seder can get like Franken with the "uuuuhh" stuff too. It is just a little rough to bear for radio.

I think some people go a little too crazy criticizing AAR though. What they have done in such a short time is probably harder than people understand and many of them are new to radio. As time goes on they will get better. Jusr be grateful there is a voice out there other than the right wing echo chamber that has been uncontested for so many years.

[LSK]

54. could the ripping on Al Franken get any more annoying???

Ok, we have tiny foothold in the media compared to the huge right wing media empire. Until we get more than just one radio network, maybe we can actually support those people like Al Franken???

Is that too fvcking much to ask???

[Quixote1818]

55. It's not my favorite show but he has the balls to take on those from

the right directly and usually kicks their ass hard. He comes across as a moderate which I think helps us with Independents. Some of his stuff is annoying and some is quite good. He is a mixed bag with me.

[thespiritualzebra]

56. I think Oyoyoy is often great, and Al has a rare ability of

keeping one foot in humor/joy and the other in all seriousness. As a senator it would be hard to smear or ignore him.

Maybe 3 hours a day is too much for him though because he does sound bored at times.

I don't have any issues with Katherine or the slide-whistle:)

[artemisia1]

57. I stopped listening to him after the election. Still, he's out there

fighting the good fight. He gets my respect for that! I did love listening to Joe Conason, though. He's the man.

[Kire]

58. I thought this was a post from six months ago.

that's when I stopped listening, i would hope that there would be at least one unfamiliar thing for you to mention, no such luck